Chris Matthews signs new MSNBC contract, ends NBC Sunday show

4/30/13 3:46 PM EDT

Chris Matthews has signed a new, long-term deal with MSNBC that also spells the end of his NBC Sunday program, according to TV Newser.

In a written statement, Matthews announced he will no longer host “The Chris Matthews Show” — a half-hour Sunday program produced by NBC that debuted in 2002 — in order to focus on “Hardball,” writing books and producing documentaries.

“I want ‘Hardball’ fans to know that I’m signing a long-term contract with MSNBC to carry on a show we started back in 1997 based on a book I wrote in 1988,” Matthews said in a statement, according to TVNewser. “To be perfectly truthful, I’d be doing what I do on the show – talking and arguing politics – for nothing even if it weren’t on the air. I think the viewer can tell I put all I’ve got out there Monday through Friday evenings.”

But, Matthews said, "there are limits to what I can do in a week" — and that means axing his self-titled weekend show. The final show will air on July 21.

“The one adjustment I’m making is to pull back from the weekend ‘Chris Matthews Show,’” he added. “There are limits to what I can do in a week. Henceforth, I intend to concentrate any time left over from ‘Hardball’ on writing books like the one I’m committed to now on the relationship between Tip O’Neill and Ronald Reagan, that and producing documentaries on history and politics.”